Thank you for reading!


Garrus was awakened from a sound sleep by the buzzing of his comm on the night table. Sitting up, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream he'd been in the middle of, he was sure there must be some mistake. Middle of the night calls were for Shepard, not for him.

She stirred next to him. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." It was so rare that she got a night's sleep that wasn't interrupted by outside calls or her own nightmares.

He fumbled for the comm, kicking impatiently at the covers that tangled around his feet as he tried to get out of the bed. He was growing to appreciate the softness and comfort of human beds, but they did get restrictive sometimes.

As he made his way across the room, banging his leg against the corner of the bed in the process, he punched the comm button. "This is Garrus Vakarian."

"Garrus! Oh, Garrus, I can't believe I'm hearing your voice!"

"Solana?" For a moment, he was sure he must still be dreaming. Her voice was so clear, the connection strong. "Solana?"

"Yes. Yes, it's me."

"Solana, are you safe? Is Dad with you?"

"We're both here. We're on the Citadel. I've … I've never been here before. I never thought I would see it—I never thought we would get off of Palaven."

"Spirits. I can't believe this." His knees buckled beneath him and he sat down on the stairs leading up to the office area. Zia was sitting up in bed now, looking at him with concern. "My family," he said to her. "They're safe. They're on the Citadel."

A smile spread across her face as she tossed the covers back and got smoothly out of bed. She made it look very easy, Garrus thought grumpily as he watched her.

"Garrus, who is that? Who are you talking to?" Solana's voice came through the comm link, sounding worried.

"Commander Shepard. I'm on the Normandy."

"Oh, yes, they told us that when we asked about you. Are you … together?"

"Yes. Yes, we are."

"I'm so glad."

"Solana, are you and Dad—are you okay? You weren't hurt or anything?"

"No, we're fine. I broke my leg, but it'll heal. He's—well, it was hard for him to leave Palaven, and living here with the refugees is …."

Zia put a hand on Garrus's shoulder. "Give them the code."

"The code? What code?"

"To the apartment."

"Your apartment?"

"Our apartment," she said firmly. "It's just sitting there empty, anyway, and what a waste when the Citadel is full of refugees. Give them the code, tell them to take some of the orphaned children with them, take care of them until we can get there."

Garrus put his hand over hers, grateful for her easy generosity. "Solana, are you still there? There's an apartment, I'll send you the coordinates. You and Dad should go there, take a few of the children with you, give them some space and a safe place to stay. It's Zia's—" He broke off when Shepard glared at him. "And mine. It's ours. And you can use my accounts for whatever you and Dad or the refugee kids need."

"Okay. Okay, Garrus, thank you! When will we see you?"

In the light from the fish tanks, his eyes met Zia's. They were on their way to face down Cerberus. Who knew if they would ever come back? But he couldn't say that to his sister. "Soon, Solana. Soon. Tell Dad—I'm just so glad you're both safe."

"Us, too. Garrus? Take care of yourself."

"I always do."

Shepard sat down on the top step next to him as he clicked off the comm. Her arm wrapped around his waist and he leaned against her, his mandible against the soft fuzz of her hair.

"Liar," she said affectionately.

"Which part?"

"The part about taking care of yourself."

"Well …" He chuckled. "I take care of you, and that's mostly the same thing. Shepard, am I dreaming? Did my sister just call? Is my family safe?"

"If you're dreaming, then so am I, and my dreams are never that nice. I'm so glad, Garrus."

"You say that now, but just wait until my dad meets your mom."

She laughed. "I think we can arrange to not be there for that particular encounter."

"Good thinking. We might just make a strategist out of you yet." Which reminded him of a call he'd had with the Primarch just after Thessia. "Speaking of strategy … the Primarch is ceasing all offensive operations against the Reapers. The only way to save Palaven now is to hold our ships back for the Crucible … but it means a lot of families won't be as lucky as mine. Spirits, Shepard, how long can this go on? How many more must be lost before it's over?"

"I don't know. It all comes down to the Crucible, and with Kai Leng …" She shivered against him, and he pulled her closer. "There's only so much fight in a person, only so much death you can take before …"

He nuzzled her cheek, tilting her head up so he could kiss her. "Before a certain turian with no romantic skills to speak of tries to cheer you up?"

"Your romantic skills aren't in question, but as for the cheering … I've never known that to be your strong suit."

"I'm turning over a new leaf."

"That'll be the day."

Garrus chuckled, pulling her onto his lap so he could hold her more closely. "We'll get through this, Zia. We always do." Rocking her back and forth, he began humming a tune in the back of his throat, harmonics and subharmonics blending.

"What's that song?" she asked.

"I thought you knew it. You've been humming it off and on since Thessia."

"Huh. For a moment there, it sounded like …" She shook her head. "No. It's gone. Maybe it'll come to me."

"Maybe when your mind's on other things," Garrus suggested.

"You mean, like sleep?"

"I mean, like sleep … afterward."